Adventures in Babysitting
by Tracy Space Cowgirl
Summary: Why don't babysitting and Lorelai mesh well together? Post Bridesmaids Revisited.


Adventures in Babysitting  
By Tracy  
Rating:PG  
Category: Post Episode Fic, with L/L overtones.  
Spoilers: "Bridesmaids Revisited"  
Summary: Babysitting? Lorelai? Why don't the two of these go together well?  
Disclaimer: I own nothing, and even if I did, the state of Alabama would try to take it away from me.

* * *

"I'm telling you, kid. It was bad." Lorelai sighed, falling back on her couch with a satisfying "plop". "That little girl is of the dark side. Demon spawn, even." 

"Please." Rory rolled her eyes before popping a couple of pieces of popcorn into her mouth. "I doubt that Gigi was that bad."

"It was like being stuck in a bad episode of I Point Pleasant /I ."

"Isn't that redundant?"

Lorelai ignorned her. "The pretty little blonde girl annihilated everything she touched. Like I Rosemary's Baby /I with superpowers!"

"So she was a little bit feisty. Aren't all likttle kids supposed to be a handful."

"Oh no. The time you decided to put crayons in the quiche Sookie was making at the Independence Inn was feisty. And, once you think about Michel's face when he tasted it, pretty damn funny, too."

"Mom. I was four. Four year olds do stupid stuff."

"This from the girl who when she was put in time out sang "Nobody loves me, everybody hates me, I think I'll just eat some worms" whenever she was punished? It doesn't bother me that Gigi decided to go all Warhol on my floor, that's just a little thing. And trust me, your Dad's going to be paying for this one. She was a whirling dervish! Nothing stopped her, she just kept going and going and going, like this Energizer Bunny from hell! Honestly, I would rather be stuck on a desert island with Taylor, because there's at least a two percent chance that sometime Taylor's going to get bored of listening to himself talk, and he doesn't even scream at the top of his lungs constantly like Gigi does!"

"Whoa." Rory muttered. "Remind me to tell Dad I'm too busy the next time he calls and asks for a sitter."

"He's asked you before?"

"Not yet, but I get the feeling you won't be the happy babysitter anymore, and I think finding out that my boyfriend cheated on me is more than my official drama quotient for the week."

"Logan cheated on you? When?"

"Logan slept his way through his sister's bridal party." Rory spat.

"When?"

"Late last year."

"When you were on a break?"

"Please refrain from making my life sound like a bad rehashing of I Friends /I ."

"Ah, but you make it so easy."

"Mom…" Rory sighed. She needed to change the subject, and fast, before she began to feel even more pathetic than she already did. "So why did you babysit Gigi anyway?"

"Your Dad needed a babysitter. He had to be somewhere and there was no one left to watch her, and she's a little too young to stay by herself, she causes pandemonium with supervision- could you imagine what it would be like if there were no adults around to even try to reign her in?"

"Dad's rich enough that he could have had several qualified, responsible babysitters, on his doorstep, within minutes."

"So this is what I get for letting you read I The Babysitter's Club /I books, huh? I knew that was a mistake!"

"I wasn't trying to critique your childraising skills, Mom, because look at how great I turned out. But you've hardly ever shown intrest in Gigi before. So why now?"

"I was doing a favor. I don't have to have an alternative motive to do a friend a favor…"

"Mom…but before…"

"Before…just before…things were different."

"Mom…please…"

"I really don't want to talk about this now, Rory. We have I Wallace and Grommit and a very funky were-rabbit to watch, and I'd like to spend this night with a dog and a cheese loving man, not to mention my very pushy daughter, and just not talk about this!"

Rory sighed and flopped back on the couch. "I'll get it out of you eventually. I'm like the Spanish Inquistion. I never stop until I get my man."

"That's the Mounties." Lorelai sighed. "And before you threaten me with the fluffy pillow…" She paused slightly. "I'm getting along really great with your Dad right now. We're friends. We're not fighting, there's no underlying sexual tension. It's back how it was before puberty came and screwed everything up. And I'm liking that. I really like that Chris is sharing his life with me and letting me in, and it's been really great to talk to him, especially since…"

"Since?"

"Luke." Lorelai said, biting her lips. She gazed up at Rory through eyes heavy with tears.

"Did something happen with Luke? Did you break up again?" Rory asked, wrapping her arms around her mother.

"No. Everything's still on, we're still engaged." Lorelai said, twisting her engagement ring nervously. "It's just…indefinite…but…"

"But?"

"Ever since April came into the picture, we've slowed things down. And I mean, I understand, because here's this kid, and she's his kid. And that's something big, something really, really big. And I don't mind really, but I just feel like he's pulling away from me. This is supposed to be our time. We're supposed to be planning our life together. And here's this great big, gigantic part of his life that Luke doesn't want me to be a part of. I thought…I thought that eventually he'd come to me and introduce us, and we wouldn't have to be all Brady Bunch-y, but if we are going to be a family, I would get to know her a little, you know? Look at how I handled you with Sherry! And then I wonder if there's a reason Luke isn't trusting me, if he doesn't want me around, and I just don't…." Lorelai's words dissolved into tears.

Rory hugged her Mom, letting her cry. After Lorelai's tears drew to a close, Rory spoke.

"We're not having the best luck with men right now, are we? They keep too many damn secrets."

"Yup."

"Yup."

"What in the hell are we gonna do?" Lorelai sighed.

"I wish I knew." Rory sighed. "Have you told Luke how you feel?"

"Did you tell Logan?"

"Put that one down as a hell, yes."

"I don't know how to tell him. He'll take it the wrong way."

"Luke loves you, Mom. Yeah, he's keeping secrets, but it doesn't mean you have to as well. He probably doesn't realize how shitty things are."

"And if worst comes to worst?"

"At least you're out of this limbo, and you know where you stand."

"I'll talk to Luke tomorrow." Lorelai said in a small voice.

"Talk to him tonight."

"But…it's movie night!"

"I'll wait, Mom. There's a really fascinating documentary on PBS that I wanted to try to catch some of anyway…."

Lorelai shook her head. "You can be such a dork."

"You can be such a chicken, Mom. Go!"

Lorelai sighed. "If I'm not back in five hours, avenge my death."

"Got it." Rory said, eagerly reaching for the zapper.

Lorelai slammed the door shut behind her. What Rory said kind of made sense…but what if…was it…

Rory was right. She couldn't live like this anymore. It isn't fair. She had to figure things out.

Summoning up all her courage, Lorelai strode through Stars Hollow to Luke's.

He was beginning to close up when she walked in, filling the ketchup bottles on the counter.

"Lorelai?"

"We need to talk."

"So what exactly is this?" April asked, looking down at the board game in front of her.

"That is, what is the least known and most wonderful game of our time, also known as combining two board games when you've lost most of the pieces from both and can't get new copies right away. It's Candyship Battleland, war with a delicious sugar rush."

"Cool." April said. "How do we play?"


End file.
